x marks the spot
What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.
~John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America
The next handful of days are particularly potent with milestone markers… points in our journey that we use to measure time, a reference point. Since the #fullmoon at 18 degrees #capricorn on #july 9th, we have been making our way to the coming #newmoon at 0 degrees #leo .
As the #moon loses her light during this time, she wanes through her phases and now enters the #balsamic moon phase – the dying moon, the witch’s moon. In this phase, she sheds all her light, is barely perceptible to our eyes. Yet she continues. She draws from her own inner resources and carries on. This moon phase is associated with increased #intuition , #psychic activity and the like. At this stage in each monthly lunar cycle we often may find ourselves giving things away, passing down information, preparing the next generation and focusing on #spiritual matters rather than the mundane. At the New Moon on 7/23 – the Moon will be seeded once again with the #light from the #sun and is born anew.
However this month, the New Moon occurs with #mars in conjunction. Mars, the planet of male energy, machinery and aggression, currently is not in good condition. He has been in Cancer since July 4th, in a sign where he can not effectively assert his energy. Additionally, Mars has been conjunct the Sun for most of the month and as a result, has been fried under the Sun’s light. Mars would hope to find better landscape in Leo when he enters it later this afternoon however the Sun is not far behind and Mars is still scorched. The Sun and Mars conjunction perfects on 7/24 at 2 degrees Leo. Here, Mars finally yields and is overtaken by the light of the Sun. A symbol for all of us… something is overcome, a death, a culmination.
On this same day (7/24), #venus , the planet of #love , #money , #beauty and the #mewants will exactly oppose #saturn , the planet of loss, restriction, rules and authority (21 #gemini / #sagittarius ) and the Moon will set things into action as she conjuncts the #northnode and #mercury in Leo. 7/24 may be a mile marker for many of us, give or take a couple days on either side as Mercury will be at the degree of the #eclipse as the Moon connects with our messenger planet.
Eclipse season rushes in dynamic #energy …the kind that can pull the rug out from under us, shaking us loose from one path and placing us on another. Be on the lookout for the unexpected, the #weird and for a little rabbit from the Center of the Universe whispering secrets 😉 This is a great time to make change in our life – ride the #vibe and kick off something you’ve never done before, or a goal you’ve always wanted to reach. Make room for the #astrology that is playing out in our #journey …make space for something to be let go and also space for a new beginning in the land of Leo.
For perspective, there are a number of countries and key people in the public eye that have important placements in their natal charts in Leo… North and South Korea, Israel, #45 and more.
What does Leo mean for you in your chart? Is the #starrywonder showing up in your journey?
The creation of freedom for oneself and a sacred “No” even to duty–for that, my brothers, the #lion is needed.
~Friedrich Nietzsche